Death is always distant. We feel empathy for those that pass. But it never really touches us.

Death is a distant stranger that we grudgingly respect.

I’ve watched The Fast and The Furious since its inception in 2001. I’ve watched every move since – with Tokyo Drift being the black sheep in the family.

I was Fourteen years of age in 2001. It has been 14 years since the first film. A long time in any language.

Adrenaline inducing action and pyrotechnics, all elements of a compelling visual thrill.
All these elements are ancillary – secondary – to why I enjoy The Fast and Furious franchise.

The idea of family, loyalty, companionship and camaraderie are the real soul of these films.
The chemistry between the cast has always been the highlight.

Hidden between moments of intense action and violence there are moments of reprieve. It is in these moments… that the film truly shines, because it is here that the familial love they share shines the brightest

When death occurs in the family, it is never glossed over. It has always been given the required gravitas.

When you’ve been a fan of an art for 14 years. When you’ve seen the Artists’ growth and evolution, the lives of the characters they portray. They begin to occupy a space in your consciousness; and by virtue: gains sentience. They come to life.

As those characters are given life, you being to realise, the artists that portray them come alive as well.

When those artists have passed, their passing brings forth more than empathy. When the artist dies, his death is two-fold, because the character goes with him.

Though you may not have known them, their essence has been distilled – immortalised – in their art. An art I have consumed over the span of fourteen years.

It is through the appreciation for the art and the artists that I write this.

I can still recall my first time going to see this Film :

As I ascended the short flight of stair to the theatres box office.

I passed a set of Cars, looking like NASCAR’s. I still remember the rumble of their engines.

I recall the smell of the fumes from their exhaust and the minor irritation the fumes caused to my eyes.

But, most of all, I recall the rush of adrenaline just before I collected my ticket – with friends – to see the First: The Fast and The Furious